Chalk it Up!

Chalk can be so much fun! Would you like to know how to make it?

Here’s an easy and inexpensive way to keep your family supplied with chalk.

Supplies

• Cardboard toilet-tissue tubes or plastic taper candle molds {available at craft stores}
• Masking tape
• Wax paper
• 1 1/2 cups plaster of paris
• 3/4 cup water
• Disposable milk or ice-cream carton
• Paint stir stick
• 3 TBSP powdered tempera paint color {or mix 4 teaspoons colored paint and 4 teaspoons white paint for pastel colors}

1. Cover one end of each mold {toilet-tissue tubes for fat sidewalk chalk and taper candle molds for chalkboard-size chalk} with masking tape to prevent leaks. Line the molds with wax paper so that the finished chalk will release easily.
2. In a disposable container, stir the plaster of paris and water together slowly with a paint stirring stick. Divide the solution into two or three containers if you are making more than one color of chalk. Add paint powder to each container and stir to color evenly.
3. Set wax-paper-lined molds upright on a flat surface, fill with chalk mix, and tap the sides of the mold to release air bubbles. Allow chalk to air-dry for 3 days before unmolding. the chalk should slide out of the cardboard tubes and candle mold.
4. Make up a new batch as needed until all desired colors are made.

Time for the kids to decorate the driveway and sidewalk with colorful art!

Chalk is simply fun!